We left Mexico City early in the morning to get a bus to Guadalajara. It was a long journey but eventually we got there and took a really long taxi ride from the bus station to the centre where we found our hotel. It was fairly nice and had a pool and gym (which we didn't really take advantage of). After getting settled in, we went for a walk into the centre which was pretty and very busy. We weren't sure what to do for dinner but ended up just buying a few empanadas (they seemed to be hugely popular and had loads of stalls selling different flavours - i think it must have been something to do with the church and Easter cos all the stalls were around the church). We sat by a fountain in the main square and then walked back to the hotel as it was starting to get dark.
In the morning we had the buffet breakfast at the hotel which was huge and we really enjoyed stuffing ourselves! We then headed to the bus station to go to Tequila. The bus left later than we had expected and it took ages to get there. The traffic was really heavy and I started getting a bit anxious about how long it was taking, but eventually we got there. We followed the crowd and ended up in the centre, passing a huge number of souvenir shops selling all kinds of tequila related bit and pieces.
We saw the signs for Jose Cuervo and followed those ones as we'd heard that the Jose Cuervo tours were the best organised and we wanted a good day after all tht travelling. They offered various tours but we plumped for the VIP tour which took us out to the fields to see the agave being grown and harvested,a visit to the Hacienda, the factory tour, the cellar tour and tasting and the tequila tasting at the bar. So we did it all really!
We had an English speaking guide which was good for my mum (although she found the mexican accent difficult to get her ear round...) We headed out to the field first where we saw the plants, learnt a little about them and saw demonstrations of the harvesting of the plants and how they got the "pineapples". (See my pictures - it'll all make sense). Ed had a go at hacking down a plant and took a "baby" plant away with the intention of planting it when we got back to SLP (he never did though...) Then we went back to Tequila town and went to the Hacienda which was beautiful.. It's used for events now and I can imagine how perfect it would be for a wedding or special day.
We then moed on to the factory tour. I'm glad we'd seen the harvesting in the field cos when you saw the pineapples you would've never worked out how they came from the big blue spiky agave plants you'd seen in the car on the way into Tequila! We saw the whole process, tasted a sip of white tequila (a bit too strong!) and learnt more about the history and the processes involved.
After that we headed down to the cellar where we tasted the Reserva de la familia tequila, and were guided through the tasting process which was quite fun. It was much nicer than we had ever imagined tequila could be and my mum even wanted to buy some to take home (in the end she didn't as it seemed impractical to carry it half way around Mexico before she left!)
Finally we went to a bar where they brought us some little snacks and a margarita. It was a fun tour and Im glad we spent the time and money on it.
There was a paper making workshop in the gallery next to the bar and so we decided to do that as well. We made paper from agave fibre and ended up carrying around wet sheets of paper for the rest of the day! They were very pretty though and when we finally go back to England I want to print a photo of our day in Tequila on one of the pieces we made.
Then we went for our tequila tasting in another bar. They gave you 3 types of tequila to try. None of them were quite as nice as the Reserva de la familia, but we had fun trying them all and got a little bit tipsy before heading to a restaurant for a very late lunch.
After lunch we had time to do a little bit of souvenir shopping, a quick wander round the town (which was very pretty) and then we headed back to the bus as we were all hot and tired.
We had chips and guacamole in the hotel bar for dinner as we were too tired to venture out.
The next day we got up at a reasonable time and I went for a swim in the hotel pool on the roof before heading out, getting on Oxxo breakfast and then off to the bus station again. This time we were heading for Chapala - we'd been told i was an idyllic little lakeside resort and very pretty and peaceful... The buses were rammed, this should've been a warning sign!
We got to Chapala and it was fairly busy but we walked down to the lake front which was swarming with people and had a little walk along until we came to a load of cheap restaurants where we had a strange lunch of chips, quesadillas and guacamole. It was nice enough though and the little restaurant was right on the lake front and was pretty quiet as it was out of the main area. There was a park next door and we contemplated going for a walk around but when we found out we had to pay to get in decided against it. I wish we had gone into the prk now because by the time we got back to the centre it was rammed. It was also incredibly hot and i started to feel a bit claustrophobic and just wanted to get out of there! I'm sure Chapala is lovely but not at Easter!
We had read that Ajijic, another little town on the lake was quieter and so we got on a bus and headed in that direction. We asked the bus driver to tell us where to get off but he didn't and i think we missed the main part of the town. We got off the bus at the side of the road and walked dow to the lake - it was sweltering hot by this point and I was feeling more than a little fed up with the day, which had been less than successful. We reached the lake but there was nothing else there and so we started walking back in the direction we imagined Ajijic was in. Finally we found some cafes and restaurants and sat down for a well deserved drink. It was quiet and peaceful (and I think it was Ajijic but can't be sure!) There wasn't much to do there and we headed back for the bus after sitting in a cafe for a while. There was an italian restaurant on the main road where we were waiting for the bus, and it was so hot just standing there that i managed to persuade ed and my mum to stop for an hour or so at the italian restaurant for a drink and a bit of bruchetta and salad. It was really nice and great to get out of the heat.
After a while though it was inevitable to face the blistering heat again and wait for the bus. It came quite quickly the second time but it was busy! It was a sweaty ride back to Chapala and then a long queue to get tickets for a bus back to Guadalajara. We were glad to get back after a bit of an odd day.
In the evening we went out looking for food and ended up at Sanborns restaurant. The food wasn't great and they put meat in my pasta so I had to send it back and wait for another one.
The next day we got up a bit late, headed down for a second go at the buffet breakfast and then decided we wanted to do a city tour. We'd seen a couple of bus companies in the main square so we headed over, compared prices and plumped for Tapatio tours, which offered a city tour a a tour of Tlaquepaque - a suburb of Guadalajara with craft shops for one price.
W took the city tour first, and it was hot hot hot on the top of that open double decker bus! It was nice to see at the sights and I think my mum enjoyed not having to walk everywhere.
We got back to the main square feeling hungry and had lunch at a resaurant overlooking th square. We wanted to do the Tlaquepaque tour and figured if it lasted about the same length of time as the city tour, we could just squeeze it in before going to the bus station. So we waited for the tour bus and headed out there. It was all going well until we arrived in Tlaquepaque and they announced that the bus would stop for 40 mins for souvenir shopping. This was not what we had anticipated and started panicking about time. We had a very quick look around and then decided to get a taxi back to Guadalajara, get our bags and go to the bus station.
It was a shame that we didn't get to complete the tour but it would've been far worse to miss the bus back to SLP. We had a comfortable journey back on a nice ETN bus. We arrived back late evening , showed my mum the house and went to bed!
My mum only had a couple of days in SLP - the first day we just relaxed at home, did some cooking etc and enjoyed a peaceful Sunday with no pressure to do or see anything. We went to the cinema in the afternoon and Ed made mole for dinner which went down very well with my mum.
On Monday I had to work in the morning, so after I finished me and my mum went into town for a bit of sightseeing and souvenir shopping and delicious cappucino at Chaires. My mum bought loads of gifts for her friends and enjoyed seeing the town. We made it back in tme for lunch with Ed, and then I spent the afternoon at home before going in for a couple of hours of work!
Tuesday was the end of the holiday, and I went out to SLP airport to say goodbye to my mum. It was a fun and very busy Easter break, we did loads and relaxed very little!
